Simmering herbs in oil

[Guest]

I've read that I can simmer herbs like lavender in oil for a few hours to infuse the oil.

What if I put them in a crock pot on low heat and let them simmer for about 8-9 hours? Would this impart even more of the lavender essence to the oil or would it cook the lavender and do no good whatsoever?

 

[Imblebee]

Infusing can take weeks. If you have time I prefer to toss in the goodies and let them mellow for a few weeks. I am working on a cinnamon clove mixture right now. It's also how I infuse my booze... :wink:

Spiced rum to go with my spiced rum soap....

 

[Guest]

Imblebee, are you talking about letting herbs sit in room temp oil?

 

[Imblebee]

Yes. I have tried to simmer some herbs for a few hours and got zilch for color and only a little for scent... Try some in the crock pot for a few hours, couldn't hurt. The longer the better so a crockpot on low sounds ideal. Bet your house will smell fantastic.

 

[Norai]

Yeah, I think a lot of the scent in flowers/herbs is in the essential oils, and those oils are much more volatile than the oil you're infusing. They have a boiling point of something like 130-190 degrees depending on the type, so if you heat your other oil past that, I think you will lose a lot of the scent to the air. So prob the best way to go is like Imble said, and infusing at room temp.

Same goes for infusing water - that's how they collect the EO is to boil it and then condense the steam that evaporates, because the EOs will evaporate much quicker than the water. So try to stick below the boiling point of the EO for the herb you're using to infuse the water with, I think? Or at least that's by best guess. And keep it covered.

Infusing both the water and the oil might be something to try